Houston @ Texas Picks & Props

Hitting from the opposite that Lance McCullers Jr. throws from, Evan Carter will have the upper hand in today's matchup. Evan Carter will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Evan Carter has been hot lately, compiling a a 27.3% Barrel% (an advanced standard to study power) in the last 7 days. Evan Carter has been zeroed in on the ideal launch angle for home runs in recent games, striking balls between 23° and 34° 27.3% of the time in the past week's worth of games. When it comes to his batting average, Evan Carter has had bad variance on his side since the start of last season. His .190 rate falls considerably below the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected Batting Average (xBA) at .210.

Zachary Dezenzo's BABIP talent is projected in the 95th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X). The Texas Rangers infield defense projects as the 4th-weakest out of all the teams playing today. Over the last 14 days, Zachary Dezenzo has improved his Barrel% substantially, increasing it from his seasonal rate of 15.6% to 26.3%. Zachary Dezenzo has seen a significant gain in his exit velocity of late; just compare his 91.7-mph average over the past 7 days to his seasonal 88.1-mph average. Zachary Dezenzo's ability to hit the ball at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased in recent games, rising from 60% on the season to 70% in the last 7 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Altuve in the 89th percentile when assessing his batting average talent. Jose Altuve is projected to hit 2nd on the lineup card in this matchup. The Texas Rangers infield defense projects as the 4th-weakest out of all the teams playing today. Despite posting a .285 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Jose Altuve has had bad variance on his side given the .037 difference between that figure and his estimated true talent wOBA of .322.

Marcus Semien is projected to bat 5th on the lineup card in today's game. Bats such as Marcus Semien with extreme flyball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Lance McCullers Jr. who skew towards the groundball end of the spectrum. Home field advantage typically improves batter metrics in all categories, and Marcus Semien will hold that advantage in today's game. In the past week's worth of games, Marcus Semien's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 8.9% up to 14.3%. Last season, Marcus Semien had an average launch angle of 13.5° on his highest exit velocity balls, while this year it has significantly increased to 16.5°.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Wyatt Langford in the 97th percentile when assessing his overall offensive talent. Wyatt Langford is projected to bat 2nd in the batting order in this matchup. Wyatt Langford will possess the home field advantage in today's game, which should improve all of his stats. Wyatt Langford has made big strides with his Barrel% in recent games, bettering his 12.1% seasonal rate to 28.6% in the past 7 days. Wyatt Langford has seen a notable gain in his exit velocity lately; just compare his 97.3-mph average over the past 7 days to his seasonal 91-mph mark.

Isaac Paredes is projected to hit 3rd on the lineup card today. Extreme groundball bats like Isaac Paredes tend to perform better against extreme flyball pitchers like Nathan Eovaldi. The Texas Rangers infield defense projects as the 4th-weakest out of all the teams playing today. In the last two weeks, Isaac Paredes has significantly improved the launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls: 26.7° compared to his seasonal mark of 18°. Isaac Paredes's ability to hit the ball at a BABIP-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased from last season to this one, going from 39.7% to 50%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Josh Smith in the 76th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive talent. Josh Smith is projected to bat 1st on the lineup card in this game. Josh Smith will have the benefit of the platoon advantage against Lance McCullers Jr. in today's game. Home field advantage typically improves batter metrics across the board, and Josh Smith will hold that advantage today. In the past two weeks, Josh Smith has significantly improved the launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls: 18.8° compared to his seasonal mark of 8°.

Yainer Diaz's batting average talent is projected to be in the 97th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X). The Texas Rangers infield defense projects as the 4th-weakest out of all the teams playing today. Yainer Diaz has seen a notable gain in his exit velocity on flyballs in recent games; just compare his 96.3-mph average in the past 14 days to his seasonal EV of 92.1-mph. Yainer Diaz's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved from last year to this one, increasing from 11.7% to 18.3%. Over the last week, Yainer Diaz's 33.3% rate of hitting balls at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 18.3%.

When it comes to his overall offensive talent, Jake Burger ranks in the 92nd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Home field advantage typically improves hitter metrics in all categories, and Jake Burger will hold that advantage in today's matchup. Jake Burger has seen a notable gain in his exit velocity lately; just compare his 99.9-mph average over the past week to his seasonal 90.6-mph EV. Despite posting a .276 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Jake Burger has been unlucky given the .065 deviation between that figure and his estimated true talent wOBA of .341.

When estimating his overall offensive talent, Adolis Garcia ranks in the 84th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Adolis Garcia is projected to bat 4th on the lineup card today. Adolis Garcia will possess the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to bolster all of his stats. Adolis Garcia has made notable improvements with his Barrel% recently, improving his 13.9% seasonal rate to 21.1% in the past week's worth of games. There has been a significant improvement in Adolis Garcia's launch angle from last year's 14.8° to 21.1° this year.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jeremy Pena in the 96th percentile when it comes to his batting average talent. Jeremy Pena is projected to hit 1st in the batting order in this matchup. The Texas Rangers infield defense projects as the 4th-weakest out of all the teams playing today. Using Statcast data, Jeremy Pena is in the 96th percentile per the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Expected Batting Average this year at .295. Jeremy Pena has compiled a .368 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) this year, ranking in the 83rd percentile.

Victor Caratini is projected to hit 5th in the batting order in today's game, which would be an upgrade from his 76% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this year. The Texas Rangers infield defense projects as the 4th-weakest out of all the teams playing today. Over the past 14 days, Victor Caratini has significantly improved the launch angle on his hardest-hit balls: 24.7° compared to his seasonal mark of 15.1°. Victor Caratini's ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved from last year to this one, going from 15.4% to 19.1%. Victor Caratini has compiled a .336 wOBA (the best measure of overall offense) since the start of last season, grading out in the 80th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Josh Jung in the 91st percentile when it comes to his batting average ability. Josh Jung will have the benefit of the home field advantage today, which should improve all of his stats. Josh Jung has seen a substantial gain in his exit velocity on flyballs lately; just compare his 101.2-mph average over the past week to his seasonal mark of 95.9-mph. Josh Jung's ability to hit the ball at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved from last year to this one, going from 16.8% to 21.5%. In the past 14 days, Josh Jung's 27.3% rate of hitting balls at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 21.5%.

When estimating his overall offensive ability, Joc Pederson ranks in the 92nd percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X). Joc Pederson is projected to bat 3rd in the batting order today. Batting from the opposite that Lance McCullers Jr. throws from, Joc Pederson will have the upper hand today. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter stats across the board, and Joc Pederson will hold that advantage in today's matchup. The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Joc Pederson's true offensive talent to be a .343, suggesting that he has experienced some negative variance this year given the .124 disparity between that figure and his actual .219 wOBA.

Home field advantage typically boosts batter metrics across the board, and Jonah Heim will hold that advantage today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jake Meyers in the 75th percentile when assessing his batting average skill. The Texas Rangers infield defense projects as the 4th-weakest out of all the teams playing today. Jake Meyers has experienced some negative variance in regards to his batting average since the start of last season; his .235 mark is quite a bit lower than his .262 Expected Batting Average, based on the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s interpretation of Statcast data.

Christian Walker is projected to hit 4th in the batting order today. The Texas Rangers infield defense projects as the 4th-weakest out of all the teams playing today. Christian Walker has seen a notable improvement in his exit velocity of late; just compare his 92.4-mph average over the last 7 days to his seasonal 90.2-mph mark. Christian Walker's average launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls lately (20.3° in the past two weeks) is considerably better than his 12.7° seasonal figure. Christian Walker has been unlucky this year, compiling a .271 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .327 — a .056 difference.